Very recently (and I wish I could credit the source), I read an inspirational
piece. The author "came to peace" with the troubling actions of others
by saying to herself, "He's (or she's) doing the best he can." This
actually had a very balancing effect on the author's life.
This morning, I had a chance to put this practice into action. As I
switched between stretching out and writing down a long "to-do"
list, I felt myself becoming concerned about the actions a
co-worker. I tried thinking"he's doing the best he can," and it worked.
Maybe because I was stretching out and paying attention to my body,
I had a chance to notice something. When I said, "He's doing the best
he can," my mind relaxed. Also, my body relaxed. My neck and shoulders
released a little bit. I realized that I'd been carrying my concerns
as back tension.
Most of us carry our concerns as tension in our bodies. We can become
happier as people - and also more expressive as dancers - by paying
attention to how our thoughts shape our body, and vice versa.
One good time to pay attention is when we are doing meditation, contemplation,
or just quietly thinking about our lives. Sometimes we notice our mental
patterns more often at these times. This is a good time to catch a negative
thought. Then, the new exercise is to notice how our body is also holding
the negativity or tension. As we release the mental tension, we can notice the
physical release.
Similarly, when we are stretching or doing yoga, or when receiving a
massage, we might notice a place in our body that is very tight. As
we pay attention to the physical tension, we can see what sorts of thoughts
come up. As we release the thought, or mental tension, we might then
notice how the body release also takes place.
It is not too much of a stretch to note that Jesus said something very similar,
where what we release "on earth" corresponds to our physical bodies; our "earthly
selves."
"Whatsoever you release on earth, is released
in heaven. And whatsoever you bind on earth, is bound in heaven.
~Jesus, in The Bible
Everything that we do in Level 2 has to do with releasing the restrictions
and bindings that we place on ourselves. Sometimes we create these bindings
ourselves, sometimes we adopt something that is given to us by society or
those around us. Also, sometimes we are very young when we take on these
restricting thought-patterns. Thus, we should not place blame on ourselves
for any pattern that we observe.
Even though we want to do this process without placing blame, it helps to know
that we should give ourselves lots of time for this. Years, in fact. (We often
have to work through layers of resistances and resentments.) And also, even when
we've mastered this to a certain level, we always find that there is more. So
this path of "releasing" is something that we continue to learn, at deeper
levels, again and again. It is one of our most fundamental practices.
Give this some attention in your life, because it is one of the most
important things in becoming a good dancer - and a happy and more balanced
person!
